Izzies honor outstanding dance – and host a great party in SF

Naming the year’s best artists in Bay Area dance is no easy task. With dozens of innovative choreographers and composers, cross-genre collaborators, companies big and small, and brilliant dancers afoot at all times, every season spans a smorgasbord of amazing performance. Luckily for the rest of us, the Isadora Duncan Dance Awards committee members manage to winnow that fertile field down to a handful of annual nominees – we can just show up at the always festive “Izzies” bash to celebrate with the artists, rub elbows and geek out about dance all night.

Free and open to the public, the 33rd annual ceremony and schmooze-fest takes place on Monday, March 25. Among the outstanding nominees are Margaret Jenkins Dance Company and OngDance Company, composer Othello Jefferson, choreographers Jyothi Lakkaraju and Keith Hennessy, and dancers Crystaldawn Bell and Frankie Lee Peterson III. S.F. Ballet’s Unbound Festival practically constitutes a category in itself, nabbing a standalone achievement award plus nominations for choreographers Christopher Wheeldon, Trey McIntyre and David Dawson, and for the entire 70-strong company of dancers. Food, drink and performance round out the evening’s entertainment; RSVP in advance to secure your spot.